John Morán González

Associate Professor
— Ph.D.,
Stanford University

Contact

Biography

John Morán González is Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of Texas at Austin. He completed his undergraduate degree (magna cum laude) at Princeton University and earned two graduate degrees (M.A. and Ph.D.) from Stanford University. He is the recipient of major fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Woodrow Wilson National Foundation. He is a Faculty Affiliate of the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS), the Department of American Studies, the Program in Comparative Literature, and the Center for Women and Gender Studies. His major research interests include Latino/a literature, especially Chicano/a literature; late nineteenth-century US literature and culture; narrative theory; postcolonial theory; cultural studies. He is on the Advisory Board for the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project, and served upon the Executive Committee for the MLA Division for Chicano/a Literature.

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: This course will consider the complex relationship between the promise of the American Dream and the reality of American life as experience by various Latina/o communities. We will examine novels by Cuban American, Dominican American, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican writers who use the gap between ideals and reality to critically interrogate the terms of Latina/o inclusion into the United States. Situating these texts within their social context will be a major feature of this course.

Possible Texts: All texts will be available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

E 395M •
Contemp Latina/Latino Narratvs

This course will consider the emergence of Latina/o literature during the 1990s as a transnational diasporic literature formed within the context of globalization. Despite the multiple and disparate origins of this literature, its formation in the crucible of US hegemony over Latin America during the twentieth century will ground discussions of its development, its import, and its future. How does Latino/a narrative map out the terrain of social relations in the United States by rewriting canonical “American” texts? How might it function as a critical history of Latino/a communities in the absence of other institutional forms of knowledge? Topics will include: the articulations of cultural forms through racial, gender, and class ideologies; the publishing industry’s role in creating the category of “Latina/o literature;” Latino/a narrative as a critique of NAFTA; migration and exile within the Latino/a imaginary; the urban Latino/a experience; cultural hybridity in the borderlands; feminist examinations of power and sexuality; tropicalization; aesthetic form and the experience of postmodernity.

This course will trace the origins and development of literature in the United States from the nation’s founding through the late twentieth century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did American literature emerge as both symptom and critique of these conditions? What were the formal and topical features of this new national literature, and how did it influence the larger cultural context of what it means to be an “American”? Situating these texts within their historical context will be a major feature of this course.

Texts: All texts are available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Ed, George McMichael: Concise Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed.

Requirements & Grading: The course grade will consist of: mandatory section and lecture attendance and participation (20%) and examinations (80%). Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade.

34705 •
Spring 2015
Meets
TTH 930am-1100am PAR 303

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: This course will trace the origins and development of American literature from the end of the Civil War through the twenty-first century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did American literature respond to the changing conditions for what it meant to be an American? How did Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism reflect and critique their historical moments, and how did these literary aesthetics influence American popular culture? Situating these texts within their historical social context will be a major feature of this course.

Texts: All texts are available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Ed, George McMichael, Concise Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed.

Requirements & Grading: The course grade will consist of: attendance/participation (20%); four exams (20% each—80% total). Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade. Plus/minus grading will be used for the final course grade. To ensure fairness, all numbers are absolute, and will not be rounded up or down at any stage. Thus a B- will be inclusive of all scores of 80.000 through 83.999. Please see the University’s website: www.utexas.edu/provost/planning/plus-minus/.

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: This course will consider the complex relationship between the promise of the American Dream and the reality of American life as experienced by various ethnic American communities. We will examine novels by African American, Asian American, Native American, Latina/o, and other ethnic American writers who use the gap between ideals and reality to critically interrogate the terms of inclusion into the United States. Situating these texts within their social context and comparing their formal dimensions will be a major feature of this course.

Texts (tentative): Achey Obejas, ed., Immigrant Voices: 21st Century Stories; Héctor Tobar, Translation Nation: American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United States; Thomas Dublin, ed., Becoming American, Becoming Ethnic; Jim Cullen, The American Dream; Roger Daniels, Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life.

Requirements & Grading:This is a Writing Flag course with major emphasis upon the development of good essay writing skills. The course grade will consist of: attendance and participation, including in-class free writing exercises and quizzes (10%); two 2-page exploratory papers due every third novel, which will be presented in class (5% each; 10% total); two peer review reports (5% each; 10% total); and two substantial analytical essays. The first of these essays must be significantly revised; the first version of this 5-6-page essay will count for 20% of the final grade, while the revised version will count for 20%. The second essay of 6-7 pages will count for 30%. Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade. Plus/minus grading will be used for the final course grade. To ensure fairness, all numbers are absolute, and will not be rounded up or down at any stage. Thus a B- will be inclusive of all scores of 80.000 through 83.999.

This course will trace the origins and development of literature in the United States from the nation’s founding through the late twentieth century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did American literature emerge as both symptom and critique of these conditions? What were the formal and topical features of this new national literature, and how did it influence the larger cultural context of what it means to be an “American”? Situating these texts within their historical context will be a major feature of this course.

Texts: All texts are available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Ed, George McMichael: Concise Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed.

Requirements & Grading: The course grade will consist of: mandatory section and lecture attendance and participation, including weekly quizzes and exercises as given by individual section instructors (25%); three examinations (25% each). Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade.

This course will trace the origins and development of literature in the United States from the nation’s founding through the late twentieth century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did American literature emerge as both symptom and critique of these conditions? What were the formal and topical features of this new national literature, and how did it influence the larger cultural context of what it means to be an “American”? Situating these texts within their historical context will be a major feature of this course.

Texts: All texts are available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Ed, George McMichael: Concise Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed.

Requirements & Grading: The course grade will consist of: mandatory section and lecture attendance and participation (20%) and five examinations (80%). Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade.

E 338 •
Amer Lit: From 1865 To Present

35955 •
Spring 2014
Meets
TTH 930am-1100am PAR 303

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: This course will trace the origins and development of American literature from the end of the Civil War through the twenty-first century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did American literature respond to the changing conditions for what it meant to be an American? How did Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism reflect and critique their historical moments, and how did these literary aesthetics influence American popular culture? Situating these texts within their historical social context will be a major feature of this course.

Texts: All texts are available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Ed, George McMichael, Concise Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed.

Requirements & Grading: The course grade will consist of: attendance/participation, including in-class free writing exercises (20%); four exams (20% each—80% total). Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade. Plus/minus grading will be used for the final course grade. To ensure fairness, all numbers are absolute, and will not be rounded up or down at any stage. Thus a B- will be inclusive of all scores of 80.000 through 83.999. Please see the University’s website: www.utexas.edu/provost/planning/plus-minus/.

E 372M •
American Realism

36175 •
Spring 2014
Meets
TTH 200pm-330pm PAR 203

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: This course will trace the origins and development of realism as a literary movement and aesthetic strategy in the United States from the 1860s through the turn-of-the-century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did Realism emerge as both symptom and critique of these conditions? What were the features of this new literary aesthetic, and how did it influence the formation of realism in popular culture? Situating these texts within their social context will be a major feature of this course.

Texts: Ed, Cadace Ward, Great Short Stories by American Women; Kate Chopin, The Awakening; Stephen Crane, The Open Boat and Other Stories; Paul Laurence Dunbar, The Sport of the Gods; Henry James, Daisy Miller; Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs; Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives; Jack London, The Call of the Wild.

Requirements & Grading:This is a Writing Flag course with major emphasis upon the development of good essay writing skills. Emphasis will be placed upon developing effective writing skills. The course grade will consist of: participation/attendance, including a freewriting exercise in every class (20%); two peer review reports of 1 page each (5% for each; 10% total); two essays of 6-8 pages each, the first of which MUST be substantially revised (70%).

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: This course will consider the complex relationship between the promise of the American Dream and the reality of American life as experienced by various ethnic American communities. We will examine novels by African American, Asian American, Native American, Latina/o, and other ethnic American writers who use the gap between ideals and reality to critically interrogate the terms of inclusion into the United States. Situating these texts within their social context and comparing their formal dimensions will be a major feature of this course.

Requirements & Grading:This is a Writing Flag course with major emphasis upon the development of good essay writing skills. The course grade will consist of: attendance and participation, including in-class free writing exercises and quizzes (10%); two 2-page exploratory papers due every third novel, which will be presented in class (5% each; 10% total); two peer review reports (5% each; 10% total); and two substantial analytical essays. The first of these essays must be significantly revised; the first version of this 5-6-page essay will count for 20% of the final grade, while the revised version will count for 20%. The second essay of 6-7 pages will count for 30%. Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade. Plus/minus grading will be used for the final course grade. To ensure fairness, all numbers are absolute, and will not be rounded up or down at any stage. Thus a B- will be inclusive of all scores of 80.000 through 83.999.

E 395M •
Contemp Latina/Latino Narratvs

36185 •
Fall 2013
Meets
TTH 930am-1100am MEZ 1.104

This course will consider the emergence of Latina/o literature during the 1990s as a transnational diasporic literature formed within the context of globalization. Despite the multiple and disparate origins of this literature, its formation in the crucible of US hegemony over Latin America during the twentieth century will ground discussions of its development, its import, and its future. How does Latino/a narrative map out the terrain of social relations in the United States by rewriting canonical “American” texts? How might it function as a critical history of Latino/a communities in the absence of other institutional forms of knowledge? Topics will include: the articulations of cultural forms through racial, gender, and class ideologies; the publishing industry’s role in creating the category of “Latina/o literature;” Latino/a narrative as a critique of NAFTA; migration and exile within the Latino/a imaginary; the urban Latino/a experience; cultural hybridity in the borderlands; feminist examinations of power and sexuality; tropicalization; aesthetic form and the experience of postmodernity.

35425 •
Spring 2013
Meets
TTH 930am-1100am GAR 2.128

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: This course will trace the origins and development of American literature from the end of the Civil War through the twenty-first century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did American literature respond to the changing conditions for what it meant to be an American? How did Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism reflect and critique their historical moments, and how did these literary aesthetics influence American popular culture? Situating these texts within their historical social context will be a major feature of this course. Schedule is subject to revision.

Texts: All texts are available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Ed, George McMichael, Concise Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed.

Requirements & Grading: The course grade will consist of: attendance/participation, including in-class free writing exercises (20%); four exams (20% each—80% total). Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade. Plus/minus grading will be used for the final course grade. To ensure fairness, all numbers are absolute, and will not be rounded up or down at any stage. Thus a B- will be inclusive of all scores of 80.000 through 83.999. Please see the University’s website: www.utexas.edu/provost/planning/plus-minus/.

Prerequisites: Six semester hours of upper-division coursework in English.

Description: This course will consider the complex relationship between the promise of the American Dream and the reality of American life as experience by various Latina/o communities. We will examine novels by Cuban American, Dominican American, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican writers who use the gap between ideals and reality to critically interrogate the terms of Latina/o inclusion into the United States. Situating these texts within their social context will be a major feature of this course.

Possible Texts: All texts will be available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Requirements & Grading: The course grade will consist of: attendance and participation, including in-class free writing exercises and quizzes (10%); two 2-page exploratory papers due every third novel, which will be presented in class (5% each; 10% total); two peer review reports (5% each; 10% total); and two substantial analytical essays. The first of these essays must be significantly revised; the first version of this 5-6 page essay will count for 20% of the final grade, while the revised version will count for 20%. The second essay of 6-7 pages will count for 30%. Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade.

35480 •
Fall 2012
Meets
TTH 1100am-1230pm MEZ 2.202

Only one of the following may be counted: E 349S (Topic: James and Wharton), 376L (James/Wharton: Novel of Manners), 379S (embedded topic: James and Wharton: American Novel of Manners).

Prerequisites: Six semester hours of upper-division coursework in English.

Description: Focusing upon the short stories and novellas of Henry James and Edith Wharton, this course will trace the origins and development of realism as a literary movement and aesthetic strategy in the United States from the late 1870s through the first quarter of the twentieth century. James and Wharton are typically cast as elite authors who wrote about economic and social elites, but how does their work align with and critique the new industrial-driven, immigrant-powered United States after the Civil War? Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did the realist aesthetic as employed by James and Wharton emerge as both symptom and questioning of these conditions? Situating these texts within their social context will be a major feature of this course.

N.B. James and Wharton are demanding writers who often require more time to read then more recent authors. The works of James and Wharton demand (and reward) close attention, so be prepared to take the time to engage these texts on their own terms.

Texts (Subject to revision): Henry James: Daisy Miller, Washington Square, The Turn of the Screw; various short stories; Edith Wharton: The Touchstone, Ethan Frome, Summer, various short stories.

Requirements & Grading: Course grade will consist of: in-class free writing exercises and quizzes (20%); two peer review reports (10%; 5% each); and two substantial analytical essays. The first of these essays must be significantly revised; the first draft of this 5-6-page essay will count for 20% of the final grade, while the revised draft will count for 20%. The second essay of 8-10 pages will count for 30%. Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade.

This is a Writing Flag course with major emphasis upon the development of good essay writing skills. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience with writing in an academic discipline. In this class, you can expect to write regularly during the semester, complete substantial writing projects, and receive feedback from your instructor to help you improve your writing. You will also have the opportunity to revise one or more assignments, and to read and discuss your peers' work. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your written work.

E 395M •
Bordrlnds Narratvs: The 1st-C

35880 •
Fall 2012
Meets
TTH 200pm-330pm BEN 1.118

Course description: As recent reconsiderations of American Empire have emphasized, the contours of US culture have been made at its borders and in relationship with its Others. This course will focus upon the emergence of Mexican American narrative between 1885 and 1959 in relation to the unequal processes of transculturation set into motion by the US conquest and annexation of Mexico's northern half in 1848. Over this century, the dispossession and deterritorialization of nineteenth-century mexicano communities via the operations of racialized US nationalism give way to the equally racialized and gendered marginalization and exploitation of Mexican migrants, a trajectory analyzed and critiqued in the Spanish and English languages narratives examined here. Questions of national belonging, transnational discourses of community, institutional change, and postcolonial adaptations will be central to our discussions. Recent scholarly developments in feminist, marxian, psychoanalytic, queer, and postcolonial theories will be considered in dialectical relationship with the primary texts.

83825 •
Summer 2012
Meets
MTWTHF 1130am-100pm FAC 21

Prerequisites: Completion of at least thirty semester hours of coursework, including E 603A, RHE 306, 306Q, or T C 603A, and a passing score on the reading section of the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) test.

Description: Literature, Culture, and Identity --

This course will trace the origins and development of literature in the United States from the nation’s founding through the late twentieth century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did American literature emerge as both symptom and critique of these conditions? What were the features of this new national literature, and how did it influence popular culture? Situating these texts within their social context will be a major feature of this course.

Texts: All texts are available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Ed, George McMichael: Concise Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed.

Requirements & Grading: The course grade will consist of: mandatory section and lecture attendance and participation (20%) and five examinations (80%). Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade.

E S372M •
American Realism

83830 •
Summer 2011
Meets
MTWTHF 100pm-230pm PAR 105

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Course Description: This course will trace the origins and development of Realism as a literary movement and aesthetic strategy in the United States from the 1880s through the turn-of-the-century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did Realism emerge as both symptom and critique of these conditions? What were the features of this new literary aesthetic, and what accounts for the variety of “realisms”? Situating these texts within their social context will be a major feature of this course.

Texts: Ed, Cadace Ward, Great Short Stories by American Women; Kate Chopin, The Awakening; Stephen Crane, The Open Boat and Other Stories; Paul Laurence Dunbar, The Sport of the Gods; Henry James, Daisy Miller; Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs; Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives; Jack London, The Call of the Wild.

E 379R •
Latina/O Novels: Amer Dreams

35845 •
Spring 2011
Meets
TTH 930am-1100am PAR 302

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

Description: This course will consider the emergence of Latina/o literature during the 1990s as a diasporic literature formed within the context of globalization. Despite the multiple and disparate origins of this literature, its formation in the crucible of US hegemony over Latin America during the twentieth century will ground discussions of its development, its import, and its future. How does Latino/a narrative map out the terrain of social relations in the United States by rewriting canonical “American” texts? How might it function as a critical history of Latino/a communities in the absence of other institutional forms of knowledge? Topics will include: the articulations of cultural forms through racial, gender, and class ideologies; the publishing industry’s role in creating the category of “Latina/o literature;” Latino/a narrative as a critique of NAFTA; migration and exile within the Latino/a imaginary; the urban Latino/a experience; cultural hybridity in the borderlands; feminist examinations of power and sexuality; tropicalization; aesthetic form and the experience of postmodernity.

Texts: All texts are available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library. Oscar Hijuelos, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love; Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls lost Their Accents; Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; Esmerelda Santiago, America’s Dream;Ernesto Quiñonez, Bodega Dreams; Salvador Plasciencia, The People of Paper; Nina Marie Martinez, ¡Caramba!; Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, The Dirty Girls Social Club.

Requirements & Grading: The course grade will consist of successful completion of the following: participation/attendance (20%); a one-page position paper about each novel (20%); one peer review of the research paper (10%); a 10-12 -page research paper (40%); an oral presentation of the research paper to the class (10%). All work must be submitted in proper MLA format.

Description subject to change.

E 395M •
Contemp Latina/Latino Narratvs

36020 •
Spring 2011
Meets
TTH 200pm-330pm MEZ 1.104

This course will consider the emergence of Latina/o literature during the past two decades as a diasporic literature formed within the context of globalization. Despite the multiple and disparate origins of this literature, its formation in the crucible of U.S. hegemony over Latin America during the twentieth century will ground discussions of its development, its import, and its future. How does Latino/a narrative map out the terrain of social relations in the United States by rewriting canonical “American” texts? How might it function as a critical history of Latino/a communities in the absence of other institutional forms of knowledge? Topics will include: the articulations of cultural forms through racial, gender, and class ideologies; the publishing industry’s role in creating the category of “Latina/o literature;” Latino/a narrative as a critique of NAFTA; migration and exile within the Latino/a imaginary; the urban Latino/a experience; cultural hybridity in the borderlands; feminist examinations of power and sexuality; tropicalization and transculturation; aesthetic form and the experience of postmodernity.

Tentative Reading List in addition to the course reader:

Oscar Hijuelos, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love

Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls lost Their Accents

Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Esmerelda Santiago, America’s Dream

Ernesto Quiñonez, Bodega Dreams

Salvador Placenscia, The People of Paper

Nina Marie Martinez, ¡Caramba!

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, The Dirty Girls Social Club

E 372M •
American Realism

34860 •
Fall 2010
Meets
TTH 1100am-1230pm MEZ 1.102

Course Description: This course will trace the origins and development of Realism as a literary movement and aesthetic strategy in the United States from the 1880s through the turn-of-the-century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did Realism emerge as both symptom and critique of these conditions? What were the features of this new literary aesthetic, and what accounts for the variety of “realisms”? Situating these texts within their social context will be a major feature of this course.

Texts: Ed, Cadace Ward, Great Short Stories by American Women; Kate Chopin, The Awakening; Stephen Crane, The Open Boat and Other Stories; Paul Laurence Dunbar, The Sport of the Gods; Henry James, Daisy Miller; Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs; Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives; Jack London, The Call of the Wild.

Grading:This is a Writing Flag course with major emphasis upon the development of good essay writing skills. Emphasis will be placed upon developing effective writing skills. The course grade will consist of: participation/attendance, including a freewriting exercise in every class (20%); two peer review reports of 1 page each (5% for each; 10% total); two essays of 6-8 pages each, the first of which MUST be substantially revised (70%).

NB: Requirements and texts subject to revision.

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

E 372M •
American Realism

83115 •
Summer 2010
Meets
MTWTHF 1130am-100pm PAR 306

Course Description: This course will trace the origins and development of Realism as a literary movement and aesthetic strategy in the United States from the 1880s through the turn-of-the-century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did Realism emerge as both symptom and critique of these conditions? What were the features of this new literary aesthetic, and what accounts for the variety of “realisms”? Situating these texts within their social context will be a major feature of this course.

Grading: The course grade will consist of: attendance and participation (20%), including in-class free writing exercises; four exams (20% each—80% total). Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade. Plus/minus grading will be used for the final course grade.

Prerequisites: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

E316K Masterworks of Literature: American

Course description:

This course will trace the origins and development of literature in the United States from the nation’s founding through the late twentieth century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did American literature emerge as both symptom and critique of these conditions? What were the features of this new national literature, and how did it influence popular culture? Situating these texts within their social context will be a major feature of this course.

Reading List:

All texts are available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Ed, George McMichael, Concise Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed.

Kate Chopin, The Awakening

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Evaluation Criteria:

The course grade will consist of: section attendance and participation, including weekly quizzes as given by individual section instructors (25%); three examinations (25% each). Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade.

Plus/minus grading will be used for the final course grade. Final grades will be determined on the basis of the following rubric. To ensure fairness, all numbers are absolute, and will not be rounded up or down at any stage. Thus a B- will be inclusive of all scores of 80.000 through 83.999. The University does not recognize the grade of A+.

Classroom Expectations:

In addition to regular section attendance, students are expected to come prepared to actively participate. We will observe civil classroom behavior at all times. Silence mobile phones during class time and refrain from other activities that might detract from the learning environment, including surfing the Internet. Students are expected to bring their texts and note-taking materials to every lecture and section.

Attendance Policy:

Punctual attendance in lecture and section is mandatory. More than one (1) absence from section will result in a reduction of a full letter grade in the final course grade (e.g., B to C). More than three (3) absences will result in a failing grade for the course.

Examination Policy:

Students must bring their own pens and blue books to all exams. Neither will be provided by the professor or section instructors, and examinations on other paper will not be accepted. Except in the case of true emergencies or University cancellation of classes, no early or make-up exams will be allowed.

Grade Review Policy:

Regrading of exams will be considered only via written petition submitted to your section instructor no earlier than one week after an exam’s return and no more than two weeks afterwards. Accurate and consistent grading is very important for proper student evaluation and fair conduct of the course; regrades will always be considered carefully. For these reasons no regrades will be accepted without a written description of the grading error, and regrades will be handled by the section instructor. While the lead professor will closely supervise the overall grading process, DO NOT turn to the lead professor, as section instructors have final authority in grade matters.

Academic Honesty Statement:

Academic dishonesty will be handled according to University policy, including assessment of the stiffest penalty permitted to the instructor (e.g., a failing grade in the course). Additional sanctions may be imposed by the University. Cheating in any form, including plagiarism and self- plagiarism, will not be tolerated. If you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, ask the instructor.

University Disability Statement:

Students with disabilities who require special accommodations need to get a letter that documents the disability from the Services for Students with Disabilities area of the Office of the Dean of Students (471-6259 or 471-4641 (TTY) for users who are deaf or hard of hearing). This letter should be presented to the instructor in each course at the beginning of the semester and accommodations needed should be discussed at that time. Five (5) business days before an exam the student should remind the instructor of any testing accommodations that will be needed. See the following website for more information: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/ssd/providing.php

E372M American Realism

Course description:

This course will trace the origins and development of realism as a literary movement and aesthetic strategy in the United States from the 1860s through the turn-of-the-century. Given the radical social changes during this period in gender, racial, and class terms, how did Realism emerge as both symptom and critique of these conditions? What were the features of this new literary aesthetic, and how did it influence the formation of realism in popular culture? Situating these texts within their social context will be a major feature of this course.

Reading List:

All texts are available at the Campus Coop. They are also on one-day reserve at the Perry-Castañeda Library.

Ed, Candace Ward

Great Short Stories by American Women

Kate Chopin

The Awakening

Stephen Crane

The Open Boat and Other Stories

Henry James

Daisy Miller

Sarah Orne Jewett

The Country of the Pointed Firs

Jacob Riis

How the Other Half Lives

Jack London

The Call of the Wild

Paul Laurence Dunbar

The Sport of the God

Evaluation Criteria:

This is a Substantial Writing Component/ Writing Flag course with major emphasis upon the development of good essay writing skills. The course grade will consist of: in-class free writing exercises and quizzes (10%); two peer review reports (10%); and two substantial analytical essays. The first of these essays must be significantly revised; the first draft of this 5 or 6 page essay will count for 10% of the final grade, while the revised draft will count for 30%. The second essay of 6-8 pages will count for 40%. Failure to complete all required coursework will result in a failing course grade.

Plus/minus grading will be used for the final course grade. Final grades will be determined on the basis of the following rubric. To ensure fairness, all numbers are absolute, and will not be rounded up or down at any stage. Thus a B- will be inclusive of all scores of 80.000 through 83.999. The University does not recognize the grade of A+.

Gonzalez, John M. (2004) The Whiteness of the Blush: The Cultural Politics of Racial Formation in María Amparo Ruiz de Burton's The Squatter and the Don. In A. Goldman & A. Montes (Eds.), María Amparo Ruiz de Burton: Critical and Pedagogical Perspectives (pp.153-168). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.